Foodie and media types were abuzz last week as a new one joined that illustrious list. Times restaurant critic Sam Sifton bestowed the coveted rating on Del Posto, the highest-budget offering from Mario Batali and Joseph Bastianich (partners in Babbo, Lupa, Otto, Casa Mono and others) who own the restaurant along with Lidia Bastianich.

The lobby of Del Posto

As Sifton notes in his review, Del Posto is the first Italian restaurant to receive a four-star ranking from the Times since 1974. The accolade comes only weeks after the long-awaited and much-hyped opening of Batali and Bastianich’s Italian mega-market Eataly in the Flatiron district.